A Million Suns (Across The Universe #2) by Beth Revis review

A Million Suns (Across The Universe #2) – Beth Revis

Now, I know I promised a review of Paper Towns by John Green, but I’ve left my notes at home today, so I thought I’d share my thoughts about A Million Suns by Beth Revis instead. Paper Towns review tomorrow, honest.

So, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the Across The Universe series, the books follow the story of 17-year-old Amy, who was frozen and sent away from Earth in a spaceship destined to land on a new planet in 300 years. However, Amy finds herself awake and unfrozen long before she’s due to be, and is forced to live on Godspeed, a spaceship full of people that were born there and never knew what life on Earth was like.

Across The Universe captivated me completely, and A Million Suns, the second book in the series, was no different.

One of my favourite things about A Million Suns is the characters. They’re brilliantly developed and believable, but also flawed, which for me is the key to a truly likeable and relatable character. Nobody in real life is perfect, after all.

It was interesting that one of the pivotal characters in A Million Suns, Orion, was frozen for the entire duration of the novel. I don’t want to give too much away, but Amy doesn’t like Orion very much. So when he starts leaving her clues that aim to reveal secrets about the ships, she’s in two minds about whether to follow them. Orion is an interesting character because you really don’t know his true motives, but I have a feeling that we’ll get to know him better in the third book in the series – Shades Of Earth.

Amy does uncover many secrets about the ship, and honestly, I didn’t see any of them coming. A Million Suns keeps you guessing from start to finish.

Beth Revis isn’t afraid of writing about subjects such as death, suicide, drugs, sex and rape, which, while some younger readers may find uncomfortable, I thought helped the revolution that takes place in A Million Suns more realistic. I imagine that, if we found ourselves in a situation like that in real life, we would react just as they did in the book.

I love that A Million Suns contains a mix of sci-fi, dystopian, romance and mystery, but those elements blend together like an ice cream sundae. The cherry on top is the ending – oh, how it left me wanting more!

You know what I really don’t like about A Million Suns, though? The cover – at least the cover of the edition I’ve got. It’s just AWFUL! Across The Universe has a lovely cover (below), so it’s a shame. But hey, don’t judge a book by its cover, right?

My rating:

***** 5/5

What did you think about A Million Suns? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below or on Twitter.

11 Comments

I’ve seen these books around but didn’t know much about them. I’m intrigued now, having read your review! Will have to pick up Across the Universe. (Which—you’re right—does have a much better cover than the sequel!)